UK inflation expectations end six-month decline in May - YouGov

Reuters Staff

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Bank of England governor Mark Carney speaks during the bank's quarterly inflation report news conference at the Bank of England in London May 14, 2014.Lefteris Pitarakis/pool

LONDON (Reuters) - The British public's expectations for inflation over the coming year edged up this month to 2.1 percent from 2.0 percent in April, ending a six-month stretch of declines, a survey by polling company YouGov showed on Friday.

Inflation expectations for the next five to 10 years rose to 3.1 percent from 2.9 percent in April.

Citi, which sponsors the survey, said trends in inflation expectations did not stand in the way of an early rise in Bank of England interest rates if needed.

"Inflation expectations are not high enough to force the (Bank of England) to hike regardless of the pace of economic growth," said Michael Saunders, chief UK economist at Citi.

"But nor do trends in inflation and inflation expectations justify the MPC keeping rates 'low for longer' in the face of strong economic growth and rising capacity use."